If Hillary Clinton runs for president, expect to see lots of claims about the growth record of Bill Clinton‘s presidency. The economy enjoyed a long economic expansion in the 1990s and Mrs. Clinton will seek to remind voters of the gains of that era.

She aired one of those claims in an interview with Charlie Rose, in which she compared the economic record of President Bill Clinton with President Ronald Reagan. Specifically, she said: “if I just were to compare Reagan’s eight years with Bill’s eight years, it’s like night and day in terms of the effects, the number of jobs that were created, the number of people lifted out of poverty — 100 times more when Bill was president. And did policies have something to do with that? I would argue that they did.”

Low-income workers are more likely to be represented by a Republican in Congress than a Democrat, according to a new study that shows debates around the minimum wage and income inequality are not localized concerns.

Nearly one in five U.S. workers earns $11.50 an hour or less, according to data released this week by Oxfam America which supports efforts to raise the minimum wage. Of those 24 million people, about 55% live in districts represented by Republicans.

Oxfam, an anti-poverty nonprofit group, said an employee earning less than $11.50 an hour would likely receive a raise if the federal pay floor was lifted to $10.10 an hour from a $7.25 rate. More conservative economists have said minimum-wage increases could limit the ability of those making slightly more than the wage floor to receive raises. Read More »

Springtime in America: U.S. payroll growth was the strongest since January 2012. Gains were broad-based, led by professional and business services (including temporary workers, management and computer systems design), retail trade, food services, construction, health care and mining. Despite signs that the housing market is faltering, construction employment is up by 189,000 over the past year, with almost three-quarters of the gain occurring in the last six months, the Labor Department said. Read More »

Employers added 192,000 jobs in March, coming in just below forecasts but showing more people are finding jobs in what has been a sluggish recovery for the labor market. Here are highlights from the Labor Department’s March employment report:Read More »

The people who administer state unemployment programs have thrown a kink into a congressional effort to reinstate an emergency lifeline for the long-term unemployed: they say a Senate plan might prove unworkable.

Shortly before a congressional recess, a group of 10 senators divided evenly between Democrats and Republicans rolled out an agreement to restore federal jobless benefits for five months, with the benefits retroactive to Dec. 29, 2013. It represented a breakthrough in the partisan Senate, where legislating tends to be challenging because the Democratic majority currently needs the support of at least five Republicans in order to get around procedural barriers. Read More »

Craigslist.org has always represented something of a virtual yard sale, but for many unemployed Americans it’s become something of a fire sale.

You name it, they are selling it. Someone in Springfield, Ore. is selling a men’s watch for $100. “Unemployment is running out need money will sell for $100.00. Call before 8pm and after 8amplease be respectful. We can meet anywhere in public.”

And they are asking for it. Another worker in Kissimmee, Fla. who the post says lost benefits when Congress didn’t extend jobless payments Dec. 28, is asking for dog and cat food. “My dogs & cats are not picky,” the person wrote.

The Wall Street Journal contacted a number of unemployed workers who are trying to sell things on Craigslist. Here are some of their stories. Read More »

Anecdotal accounts of young college grads working as baristas, bartenders or retail clerks are widespread, provoking questions about the economic logic of going to college, particularly if doing so means taking on a lot of debt.

Now come some economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with evidence that college grads between 22 years old and 27 years really are finding it tougher to find jobs that require a bachelor’s degree than has been the case in the past.

“Such difficulties are not a new phenomenon,” the economists say in an essay published in the New York Fed’s latest Current Issues. “Individuals just beginning their careers often need time to transition into the labor market.” Read More »

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.